Monday, February 29, 2016

Adrian Rogers (AD 1931-2005) was the well-known pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, Tennessee. He was three times elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention and was a leader in the SBC Conservative Resurgence. His radio, TV, book ministry has reached around the world and continues today. He is one of the best for young, and not so young preachers, to learn from today. Get his books and listen to his sermons.
What did Adrian Rogers believe about alcohol, drinking, wine?
Some of his quotes are below.

“The most dangerous drug in America is beverage alcohol. Number one because of it’s acceptance. Number two, because of it’s availability. Number three, because of the effect that it has upon our hearts and our lives and the misery that it brings.”

“The Bible uses the word wine in two difference senses. The word wine may mean that which may intoxicate you, or it may mean that which may not intoxicate you. The word wine in the Bible may refer to that which is fermented, or that which is not fermented; that which has alcoholic content or that which does not have alcoholic content.”

“God says not to look on it, but to the contrary, we are to shun it when it is fermented (Proverbs 23:31).”

“When a bunch of grapes are hanging on the vine, it’s called wine (Isaiah 65:8).”

“They knew how to check the fermentation of grape juice.”

On the Old Testament Hebrew word for wine, “Yayin may mean that which intoxicates, or that which does not intoxicate (Isaiah 16:10; Proverbs 20:1).”
“The word yayin is a generic word.”

“You are going to have to find out from the context, where the Bible says wine, whether it means that which is intoxicating or whether it isn’t.”

On the New Testament Greek word for wine, oinos. “That too may mean that which is intoxicating or that which is not intoxicating.”

“When you read the word wine in the New Testament, you can only know by the context whether or not it means that which can make you drunk. It does not always mean that which will make you drunk. It frequently means that which is not intoxicating.”

“Did Jesus turn water into wine? Jesus turned water into oinos. Is that the kind of drink that would make a person drunk? Of course not!”
“Do you think Jesus had anything to do with making people drunk? If you do, you don’t know the Jesus that I know.”

“Didn’t Jesus serve wine at the Lord’s Supper? No!”

“Time magazine said alcohol is involved in one half of all murders.”

“Have you ever stopped to think what the word intoxicated means? It means you have toxins put in.”
“When a man is intoxicated he has poisoned himself.”

“Moderation is not the answer to the liquor problem, in most cases it’s the cause of it.”
“It is the moderate drinker that encourages other people to drink.”
“You may be very surprised at who you may hurt with your ability to hold your liquor.”

“The position of a man, woman, boy or girl ought to be total abstinence.”
“If you don’t drink, don’t start!”

Learn more and get more information on this biblical view of alcohol from the book:Ancient Wine and the Bible: The Case for AbstinenceIn this book Adrian Rogers and many others are quoted. You will also find a wealth of reference material and illustrations.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Charles C. Ryrie (AD 1925-2016) lived to be four score and ten, was an outstanding Bible scholar, teacher, author, Southern Baptist. He taught for years at Dallas Theological Seminary and authored some 50 books. Multiplied thousands of preachers and Bible students are in his debt. Dr. Ryrie was an active member of First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas and good friend of pastors W. A. Criswell, O. S. Hawkins, Mac Brunson, Robert Jeffress.

He is perhaps best known for his Ryrie Study Bible, Basic Theology, and as a spokesman for Premillennialism (or Dispensationalism). Every pastor should have the Ryrie Study Bible as a reference.

On one of my fairly recent visits to SWBTS, Paige Patterson announced Charles Ryrie would be speaking in an upcoming chapel service. Wish I could have been there.

"If ever there lived a man whose life was immersed in the Bible it was Charles Ryrie. This is evident not only in the legacy he left in the Ryrie Study Bible, his amazing collection of rare and antique Bibles and books, but his passion to never stop studying even into his ninth decade of life.” -O. S. Hawkins, GuideStone.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Has your Christian faith been challenged in the classroom, by the media, or by friends?
Have you heard the Bible ridiculed?
Seen Evangelical Christians accused of hate and bigotry?
Need answers to the tough questions about the reliability of the Bible and about Christianity? You can find the answers in these books:

Christianity on Trial, by Mark Lanier, a successful trial lawyer.I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, by Norman Geisler & Frank Turek. Evidence that Demands a Verdict, by Josh McDowell. Josh is a former atheist and has spoken at numerous universities. Don’t Check Your Brains at the Door, by Josh McDowell & Bob Hostetler. Short chapters designed for students. Good for teenagers through adults. The Case For Christ, by Lee Strobel, a former atheist. In Defense of the Bible, edited by Cowan & Wilder, B&H. Who Made God?, by Norman Geisler & Ravi Zacharias. Apologetics Study Bible, by Holman Publishers.

Read the Bible itself to find out what it really teaches.
Good translations: NKJV; KJV; NASB; HCSB…

Read these books and you will find the Bible and Christianity stand up well to skeptics and tough questions. Believers in Jesus Christ need not fear the false accusations against their faith.

Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you. -1 Peter 3:15

Southern Baptist Pastor

Serving the Lord on the upper Gulf Coast of Texas.
Author of The Wit & Wisdom of Pastor Joe Brumbelow, Hannibal Books; and Ancient Wine and the Bible, Free Church Press.
See Article, "About Gulf Coast Pastor" for more information.